Clayton’s keys: Seahawks can’t afford to add to injury list vs Bucs

The timing of a couple Seahawks games against the NFC South has been difficult.

They faced the New Orleans Saints right after a draining 6-6 tie to the Arizona Cardinals. With the defense on the field for 95 plays (including penalties), starters were fatigued and the team was vulnerable in a 25-20 loss. The fatigue factor carried through for a couple weeks.

Now, Sunday’s long trip to Tampa Bay to face the Buccaneers comes right after a physical game against the Philadelphia Eagles in which eight players were injured enough to miss full practices for most of the week.

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These injuries put the Seahawks in a tough spot. They are missing half of their starting secondary and half of their backfield. A week ago, Seattle head coach Pete Carroll felt the team was finally getting healthy. Michael Bennett and Kevin Pierre-Louis were the only scratched players because injuries for the Eagles game. For Sunday, their seven-man inactive list could be filled by injured players.

Here are some things to watch for in the Bucs game:

The absence of Earl Thomas. The most significant injury is that of Seattle’s All-Pro free safety, who has a hamstring strain that typically takes 10 to 14 days to heal. He’s never missed a game as a Seahawk, and his presence is one of the keys to the success of the Legion of Boom. His range gives the Seahawks’ cornerbacks the spacing they need to set up their coverages. His hitting and ability to read plays is one of the seasons the Seahawks rarely give up more than 16 points a game. Steven Terrell is expected to get the start in Thomas’ place. His job will be to prevent the Bucs from getting explosive plays. Cornerback DeShawn Shead’s hamstring injury might be the second biggest injury. Like Thomas, he’s expected to miss 10 to 14 days with a hamstring strain. Neiko Thorpe is expected to start for him. With Richard Sherman liked to shadow Bucs receiver Mike Evans on most passing plays, Jameis Winston might be testing Thorpe a lot during the game. Shead has done well this season, but he does get plenty of action because he plays on the other side of Sherman. Quarterbacks have thrown Shead’s way 62 times, completing 37 passes against him for 494 yards but only one touchdown.

The Seahawks need a good performance from Alex Collins. With C.J. Prosise and Troymaine Pope expected to miss Sunday’s game because of injuries, the Seahawks lose significant pass-receiving ability out of the backfield. They should be OK with early-down runs. Thomas Rawls is the physical runner on first and second downs. Collins, a rookie who was inactive last week, will be his backup and will need to maintain Rawls’ physical efforts. Coming off his leg injuries, Rawls is still trying to getting up to speed this season and be the starter. He’s only had 33 carries for 82 yards. But now the starting job is his. He is averaging 3.8 yards on first downs, and that is needed to set up good down and distance situations for Russell Wilson.

Once again, the Seahawks will need a big game from Russell Wilson. The good news for Carroll is that Wilson keeps shaking off his leg injuries and is pretty close to being near full speed. The Seahawks QB be facing a good but not great Bucs defense. The Bucs rank 26th in yards allowed, giving up 381.7 yards and 25.9 points a game. With his increasing mobility and success working out of the pocket, Wilson is getting more scoring out of the offense. Over the past three games, the Seahawks are averaging 29.3 points a game. Anything over 24 Sunday could give the Seahawks a good chance of winning.

As always, the offensive line is a big story. Center Justin Britt, one of the stars in the first half of season, has missed practice time this week because of an ankle injury, but he is needed Sunday. The Bucs have a difficult defensive tackle in Gerald McCoy. Not only is he one at his position in the NFL, he’s also one of the most disruptive, and is on his usual pace to get eight to nine sacks. He has 4.5 so far. If Britt can’t go, rookie Joey Hunt would get the start, and that would mean three rookies starting on the offensive line: Hunt, George Fant and Germain Ifedi.

Carroll’s big hope is coming out of this game with a win and not adding to the injury list.

Want more John Clayton? Listen on-demand to his weekday and Saturday shows as well as his “Cold Hard Facts” and “Clayton’s Morning Drive” segments on 710 ESPN Seattle. Also, check out his all-new “Schooled” podcast and look for his columns twice a week on 710Sports.com.

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